Somerset officials say sewer use fee won't change costs to residents

SOMERSET — If approved at the Nov. 14 special Town Meeting, the method for paying sewer bills will change and mirror the water enterprise account.

At the same time, officials acknowledge discussion of the change has left some residents wary they’ll be hit twice as hard in the tax pocketbook.

If approved next month, the newly established sewer user fee would go into effect July 1, the start of fiscal 2017, Water and Sewer Superintendent Robert Lima said.

The Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners, chaired by Scott O’Brien, recommends the town pay the wastewater budget through user fees rather than from general taxation, Lima said.

Those sewer charges, Lima said, would be listed separately on the water bill, which is sent bi-annually to residential, commercial and industrial users.

He said officials are considering realigning the bill to a quarterly system, which the commissioners will discuss at their next meeting on Oct. 25.

Lima said the change would result in a yearly sewer bill of approximately $400 for a homeowner of an average property.

The amount of revenue generated, under current conditions would be just under $2.7 million, he said.

He broke down the figures from how the wastewater budget is funded. That is based upon $2,447,727 based on the annual budget with fixed expenses, and another $248,512 in sewer debt to pay current project bonding, Lima said.

It totals $2,696,239, and “is exactly what people pay now” through taxation, Lima said.

Simultaneously, when user fees are implemented that amount would be deducted from revenue raised through taxation for the general fund, he stressed.

Citing his research, Lima said the water user fee was established on May 18, 1992, and for nearly 25 years has worked well.

That water enterprise fund has a budget of approximately $3.4 million, he said. While the budget is higher and the average homeowner pays less than $400 a year, Lima noted the large commercial payments from Brayton Point’s power plant.

He estimated Brayton Point pays approximately one-third of the water budget and that contribution continues to diminish. Brayton Point and Montaup paid at one time approximately 60 percent of the town water usage before the latter closed in 2010 and as use of coal as an energy source has decreased.

“It’s not that we’re raising new funds,” Lima said of the proposed user fees. “We believe we have a great service with the water enterprise fund and believe we can have the same services with the sewer enterprise fund.”

Lima said segregating the sewer fees would allow the department and commissioners to better control projects and for residents and business people to see the revenue stream.

“They don’t get it on their tax bill. They’d get it on their water bill, and it should equal out,” he said of the proposal.

It’s not correct officials are manipulating a structural budget deficit in order to collect these fees, Town Administrator Richard Brown said in regard to some citizens’ concerns.

“It’s revenue neutral,” Brown said in a separate phone interview.

Lima said town meeting voters would still vote to bond sewer projects, and the Board of Selectmen would need to authorize the bonding.

Email Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com or call him at 508-676-2573.